“Then who the fuck is it on?” I asked. “’Cause I’m standin’ right here, and you’re the one who’s leavin.’”
“Fuck you, Mack,” she said flatly.
And there it was.
I took a step back into the hallway so she could rush past me. She didn’t even bother putting the shampoo bottles into her bag, just carried them in her arms as she hurried away. As soon as the front door closed behind her, I lost it.
The hole in the drywall was going to be a pain in the ass to patch.
* * *
“Drive careful,” I told my mom, hugging her tightly. It didn’t matter how many times they hit the road, it still sucked every time they left.
“I will,” she replied. “Can’t say as much for your dad.”
“Real funny,” I mumbled, giving her a squeeze before letting her go.
“Jacob, where’s Rose?” she said, holding on to my arms. “I thought she’d come with you to say goodbye.”
“She had some other stuff going on today.”
“Bullshit,” she replied, raising one eyebrow.
“Got into it this mornin,’” I confessed. “Don’t think she’s gonna be around much.”
“How bad did you fuck up?” she asked sympathetically.
“Who says it was me?”
Mom laughed. “Rose is crazy about you,” she said. “And she’s insanely polite.”
I scoffed.
“When she needs to be,” mom clarified. “If she was the one who’d fucked up, she still would’ve come to say goodbye.”
“It’s complicated,” I replied.
“Good relationships always are,” she said sagely. “Fix whatever you did, son. You’re just as crazy about her. So is my granddaughter.”
“Kara’ll be fine,” I argued.
“I didn’t say she wouldn’t be,” she said as my dad and Kara came around the front of the camper. “It’s you I’m worried about.”
“All set?” my dad asked.
“Yep.” My mom opened her arms and Kara ran to her. “Be good for your dad.”
“I’m always good.”
“Sure,” my mom said teasingly, drawing out the word. “At least try not to give him any more gray hairs, huh? It makes me feel old.”
“You’ll call when you get where you’re goin’?” I asked as Kara left my mom and tucked herself under my arm.
“Always do,” my dad replied. He came in for a hug that squished Kara between us.
“Thanks for comin.’”
“Anytime,” my mom called as she walked toward the passenger door.
Kara and I watched as they climbed inside. My dad leaned over to give my mom a kiss before starting the engine. Then they were off, the RV swaying from side to side as he navigated around the potholes in the asphalt.
“I wish they didn’t have to go,” Kara said wistfully.
“I know,” I replied as I picked up her backpack. “But they’ve earned it.”
“I don’t understand why they don’t want to stay here,” Kara said as we walked over to my bike. She took her backpack from my hand and put it on, buckling the strap at her chest. “I’m here. You’re here.”
“They were stuck in one place for a long time,” I said, climbing on the bike. “This is their time to roam.”
“Well, I think it’s stupid,” she pouted.
“Watch it,” I warned.
“I didn’t say they were stupid.”
“Kara.”
“Fine. Sorry.” She buckled her helmet and climbed on behind me.
Before she could say anything else, I started up the bike, making conversation impossible. I was actually a bit relieved that she was so preoccupied with my parents leaving and hadn’t said a word about Rose yet, since I had no fucking clue what I was going to tell her.
This was the exact reason that I’d made the decision to keep Kara as detached as I could from any relationship I had. She didn’t deserve to be left behind when whatever woman I was seeing decided that she wanted something else. Rose’s face as she stormed out of the house flashed in my mind as I pulled out of the camping spot, but I shook it away. She’d proved every point I’d made when she’d walked out on me.
* * *
“Why the fuck has it been so quiet?” Grease asked in frustration. “You seen anything?”
“Not a fuckin’ thing,” I replied, feeling just as frustrated.
After our men had been forced off the road and our truck full of guns stolen, we hadn’t heard or seen anything. The night my parents got in, one of the recruits that had been part of that delivery had disappeared. Just vanished, poof, from his post at the gate. Since he was a grown ass adult, there hadn’t been much we could do—but it still bothered the hell out of me. Where the fuck had he gone? Was he even still alive? Had he been in on the theft and got out before we could catch him? We had no fucking answers. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any more attempts to steal from us, though. I went on every run and we’d had no tails, no eyes on us, no problems at all. If we didn’t know better, we’d assume it was a one-off. There hadn’t been a single word on the street about whoever took the guns trying to sell them. We had no leads and no idea where to look. It was irritating as all hell.